New legislation will soon allow Kiwis to build granny flats of up to 70 square metres in their backyards without a building consent, unlocking more housing choices and delivering on a key Coalition Government commitment in the Q4 Action Plan.
RMA Reform and Housing Minister, Chris Bishop said it was currently “far too hard” to build the homes New Zealanders need, with even the simplest dwellings requiring complicated and costly consent processes.
“We know increasing housing availability directly translates to lower living costs for our communities. That’s why the coalition Government is making it faster and more affordable to build granny flats up to 70 square metres,” said Mr Bishop.
“These simple dwellings have the potential to be part of the solution for providing families with more housing options. This will be great for grandparents, people with disabilities, young adults, and workers in the rural sector.”
To support the change to the Building Act, updated National Direction under the Resource Management Act (RMA) will remove the need for resource consents for granny flats and is expected to be in place by the end of the year, the Minister said.
Building and Construction Minister, Chris Penk said the move was also a positive step for boosting productivity in New Zealand’s construction sector.
“The exemption is expected to deliver roughly 13,000 more granny flats over the next decade, meaning we’ll see more work for builders in the pipeline without local councils managing unnecessary consenting burdens for simple building work,” Mr Penk says.
“Local councils will be freed up to focus their attention on more complex building work where the need for an inspection and thorough consenting processes is much greater.
“Even with the building consent exemption in place, it’s important Kiwis remember that they will only be eligible for the exemption if their granny flats are simple in design, meet the Building Code and building work is carried out by authorised building professionals.
“Homeowners will also need to notify their local council before they begin building and once the granny flat is completed.”
Any building work on a granny flat that is either in progress now or starts before the exemption comes into effect in Q1 2026 will continue to require a building consent.
Specific design requirements for a ‘simple design’ of a granny flat can be found on the Government’s Building Performance website.
